Is the balancing process of your DJI Ronin taking too long? The Procyon Gimbal Balance Locator is a nifty little tool that will help you achieve the perfect centre of gravity for your rig, both quickly and accurately.
Gimbal stabilizers are fantastic filmmaking tools; they can often save you a lot of time on set as their flexibility provides an array of smooth shot options.
However, they can also slow your process considerably. Downtime for rigging, changing focal length, re-balancing, battery switch, re-balancing, media switch, re-balancing… you get the picture.
Procyon have come up with a simple tool that allows you to quickly & accurately obtain the perfect point of balance on your fore/aft axis.
It works on the DJI Ronin-M and DJI Ronin-MX stabilizers. Bolting onto the back of the existing cradle and plate, it allows you to narrowly adjust fore and aft by twisting the pin on the back of the Gimbal Balance Locator, rather than having to slide the camera back and forth until correct balance is achieved.
It’s pretty simple to install: just loosen the existing plate clamp a little, bolt on the Gimbal Balance Locator ensuring the plate is in an optimum spot for alignment and you’re good to go.
You still have to balance all of your other axis’ in the conventional way, so its time saving on initial setup is short. Where the Gimbal Balance Locator comes into its own is between takes, after a battery or media change, the small tweaks; it’s usually this fore and aft that falls out of line first.
A battery change on your camera also won’t affect all your axis, it’s merely the fore and aft you have to adjust to get the camera back in the correct position. Here, the Gimbal Balance Locator will save you lots of time getting the centre of gravity millimetre perfect.
The design is reminiscent of the thread adjustors found on the Glidecam HD range. It’s this fast tweak function that separates the flagship range from its lower XR range.
For any users of the CineMilled Pro Dovetail plate – the Procyon Gimbal Balance Locator is still compatible.
You can purchase the Procyon Gimbal Balance Locator from the Motiondogs website.

1A Tools have already made a name for themselves with their MøVi tripod adapter which we reported on here. Now they are back at it by reinventing the wheel, so to speak:
Their new 1A Tools Alpha Wheels bring back the wheel controlled panning and tilting shots to modern devices like MøVi gimbals and remote heads. Contrary to actual mechanical wheels, the Alpha Wheels have electronics inside them which allow them to be reprogrammed for all kinds of devices. You can think of it like an input controller such a computer mouse, adjustable for all kinds of uses that allow for two axis movement or adjustment.
1A Tools say that the Alpha Wheels allow much more precise control of pan and tilt compared to the normal remote because you can’t accidentally pan or tilt when you using them, and they are surely right that the controls are not as fiddly. This seems to make sense particularly for narrative filmmaking where the same shot is repeated many times. I am personally not so sure of the argument about accidental pan or tilt because those controls are dedicated separate joysticks on the remote anyway.
Although I can certainly see a market for this, the device comes at a price – it’s available for pre-order for $1,800 from their website now. Personally I will stick with my (MUCH cheaper) Freefly Mimic controller (our article / video here) when I need an operator, but I’ll definitely take the Alpha Wheels for a spin when I get a chance ….
Check the Alpha Wheels out on the 1A Tools website.

DJI Ronin Balancing problems with you oblong rig? DJI Ronin-M not compatible with the larger camera you anticipated? The CineMilled Pro Dovetail plate with counter balance weights could be the product for you.
CineMilled has become quite the known brand for making third party accessories for the DJI Ronin. Extension Arms and Universal mounting support were items that got them initially noticed.
When the DJI Ronin-M surfaced, many will have been very excited about the prospect of such a small and affordable gimbal offering so much in term of maximum payload.
The reality is that the Ronin-M is so small in physical size that you’ll long exceed it’s physical limitations than you will it’s payload. Coming from a gimbal user myself, weight is only a small part of building a workable system.
If you’re dealing with large lenses, slightly oddly configured cameras, setups that tentatively hover around the maximum payload of your gimbal, or even all of the above, you’ll appreciate the struggles of a workable gimbal system.
And by workable gimbal system, I mean one that balances correctly without the cradle catching other parts (ie the hand bar or rear column) and one that sits balance on the plate enough that it doesn’t reek havoc with the gimbals motors.
The CineMilled Pro Dovetail with Counter Weights could save you a world of hassle, making DJI Ronin balancing much easier.
The weights are designed to screw onto the threaded plate to act as counter balance to otherwise mis-shaped rigs.
Chuck a big Cine lens on a mirrorless camera and you’ll find the camera setup sits so far back it’ll clip gimbal on tilt. Add a longer camera like the FS700 in and you won’t even get it on the carriage.
Custom placed counter weights gives you much more control over the balance of your gimbal, you’ll no longer require the camera to sit so far back/fore to counter act a heavy battery or lens.
The PRO Dovetail is available in two length sizes, Ronin and Ronin-M and counter weights are sold separately in a selection of sizes.

I’ve been a gimbal user from the very beginning when the Freefly MøVi M10 came along, and later with the MøVi M5. I love these devices for a variety of shoots and they have become a part of my permanent toolkit.
However, all of these 3-axis gimbals including all the devices that came after the MøVi, like the DJI Ronin and Ronin-M gimbals (and uncountable other copycats), have one thing in common:
They don’t stabilize the vertical axis. The typical bouncy up-and-down movement that occurs when walking, cycling, riding a horse and so on. The gimbals do a terrific job at stabilizing pan, tilt and roll, but not this axis – and the few other gimbals that have claimed to stabilize it so far have fallen short of expectations as the vertical axis needs severe stabilization due to the large amount of movement that’s going on.
In comes a very intriguing Kickstarter project called Jockey Motion, which lets you upgrade your existing Ronin or Ronin-M as well as AllSteady gimbals, to feature a 4th axis, which mechanically gets rid of vertical shake. It’s even equipped with a quick release system, so it seems to be able to get it on or off your gimbal in very little time.
While the Turbo Ace people behind the Jockey Motion also offer their own complete 4-axis gimbal system as part of the Kickstarter campaign, it’s great to see that some of the most popular gimbals are also supported via an “upgrade path” to that 4th axis. Unfortunately there’s no mention of support for Freefly MøVi’s, but I’ll reach out to them to hear if there were plans to support the MøVi as well in the future.
The Jockey Motion 4th axis works in a very intelligent way, not using electronics, but a set of four synchronized Hydraulic Shocks. Without going into more detail, it’s better to leave the tech speak to those who invented it:
Turbo Ace engineers integrated a proprietary custom suspension system with 4 synchronized Hydraulic Shocks to absorb and slowly dissipate energy in the vertical axis. This puts a stop to the endless up and down oscillation from the main spring. The idea is very similar to the suspension system found in an automobile. With just the spring and without the hydraulic shocks, the vertical suspension system would be rendered useless. We all at some point have witnessed a car with defective hydraulic shocks that continuously bounced up and down on the road, sitting on just the springs. But the pursuit to perfection did not stop here, for in order to adapt to a different payload, variance to the torque of the shocks must be incorporated. This is similar to a SUV requiring heavier duty shocks than a Sedan. For heavier payloads and more rugged terrain, four hydraulics are used for maximum dampening. For a lighter payload and increased sensitivity to cinematic production, the number of hydraulics can be geared down to two with a twist of a thumb.
I’m sure this thing adds quite a bit of weight to the entire rig, which is why they have also developed a relatively simple support system which goes around your waist like a belt.
It’s nice to see innovation in the field of gimbals, where copycat behavior unfortunately has become the norm. Like the innovative Sachtler Maxima and Trinity gimbal-steadicam combos (which we reported about recently), the Jockey Motion 4-axis gimbal upgrade seems to open up a whole lot of new opportunities.
Head over to their Kickstarter page to learn more. The cheapest upgrade packages start at $999 currently. The project is already fully funded and their prototype demos and mention of part procurement make us hope they are shipping soon (however they don’t mention an exact timeframe).

Here’s a couple of kit tips for anyone looking to use Canon EOS Cinema cameras on gimbal systems like the MoVi and Ronin.
I use the Movi M5 with Canon C100 and get asked a lot when posting pictures what I use to mate the grip to the gimbal, so I’ve decided to write an article to show users the necessary components to do this.
The Canon EOS Cinema cameras are fantastic cameras to use on gimbals; compared to other camcorders in their class they are small & light. They also have the ability to remove and relocate the native grip handle providing full control over the cameras functions.
Add to that the advanced Dual Pixel Auto Focus system and you have a fantastic single operator gimbal system.
The same accessories can be used for pretty much any gimbal with a crossbar setup, whether it is one of the Freefly Movis, DJI Ronin etc, applying to both the C300 and C100 (both marks).
You’ll need 3 bits of kit: The Zacuto ENG Grip Relocator, a Zacuto ZUD and a Manfrotto Nano Clamp.
The ENG Grip Relocator is the core item, it goes between the camera body and grip handle enabling you to extending the reach up to 22”. It’s designed to mount to a pair of 15mm rods, but you can re-purpose its use by mounting to a single 15mm stud (The ENG Grip Relocator can rotate 90 degrees to enable different types of mounting).
Zacuto aren’t the only ones to make 15mm studs. Redrock make the MicroSpud amongst a various others (Small Rigs on Amazon for you UK folk).
I found the ZUDs work best however as they provide a 3/8” thread with adjustable collar to ensure there’s a strong mate. ¼” threads work also, but the larger thread is much more secure.
The Manfrotto Nano clamp receives the thread of the ZUD and connects to the crossbar. I’ve tried and tested this with both Movi and Ronin crossbars; it fits both just fine.
There’s plenty of other ways of doing this, you can play around with Freefly mounts and get the ENG Grip Relocator attaching without the need for the Nano clamp.
However this is the most secure and quick release way I’ve found of doing it; Once setup it’s a two piece item, the ZUD stays permanently attached to the clamp, meaning only a single lever separates them both.
There’s a couple of ways of improving it further. The older ENG grip relocator may ship with a standard lever, in which case you can order the ratchet lever separately (the ratchet lever is pictured throughout this article), enabling you to setup up tension in more confined spaces.
The cable of the ENG Grip Relocator is pretty chunky; it’ll easily influence the balance of your gimbal if you’re not careful.
I’ve found securing much of the excess length via the crossbar helps reduce the wires influence on balance. I do so by use of a ThinkTank Red Whip, these are useful on pretty much every single bit of kit you own one way or another; I’d recommend every shooter own a handful of these.
Lastly is a tip I picked up from VidMuze that is specific to the Movi M5 and EOS Cinema Cameras. Switching out the 8” rods to 10” versions will give you more height for the top cage. Without the extra length cameras like the C100 won’t fit on the M5 without removing the top cage altogether.

CineMilled has designed some Tilt Arm Extensions for the DJI Ronin M that enables the stabilizer to reach better potential in relation to its payload.
DJI has become hugely popular for their affordable gimbal stabilizers. The original Ronin offered an affordable alternative to the Freefly Systems MoVi, albeit coming at a critical drawback; it’s absurd weight.
The Ronin M raised a lot of eyebrows as DJI managed to halve the weight and payload; the latter affecting few as an 8lbs payload still offers huge potential.
However, despite the Ronin M having the capabilities to handle anything south of an F55 (body only) in weight, its physical dimensions are hugely prohibitive meaning little more than a large DSLR is compatible out of the box.
The width of the cradle restricts any camera wider than 6.3″ / 160 mm, for reference this is a Nikon D4 to the mm. The Blackmagic Cinema Camera doesn’t fit inside the cradle, however some trickery with a heavy lens so the body sits further back will enable it to balance.
There’s also tilt restrictions, mounting a C100/C300 will cause the cradle to ‘bottom out’ in an attempt to get the body low enough for correct centre of gravity.
CineMilled surfaced as credible solutions for expanding the compatibility of the original Ronin. Pan and Tilt arm extensions meant you could really maximise the potential of the 16lbs payload.
They were at the forefront of the Ronin M release and as a result it hasn’t taken them long to step in and help out the physical limitations of the Ronin M.
The CineMilled Tilt Extensions provide more height adjustment on the cradle to balance larger cameras. This means cameras like the C100 mark 2 and C300 now become fully compatible.
For wider cameras you’ll still struggle. Looking at the design of the Ronin M my immediate thoughts would be that nothing short of a completely new wider arm would solve this; perhaps out of CineMilleds remit.
Although I could by wrong, I’m not an engineer.
The current solution for this is a heavy front end to the match the rear of the camera; this means the camera sits behind the cradle where there is more width. However this should be done with caution to ensure the camera doesn’t hit the back of the gimbal (another popular dilemma).
In short, the limitations of the Ronin M are in the physical dimension of your camera setup, not the weight. It’s doubtful you’ll get close to the maximum payload in relation to what it can physically fit; you should therefore pretty much ignore the 8lbs, it’s kind of irrelevant.
Another product from CineMilled worth checking out it the Universal Mount For Ronin M. This mount where the handlebars meet the gimbal and offers up a few 3/8″ and 1/4 20″ threads for mounting on other accessories and grip.
Via/ CineMilled Instagram

CineMilled has just teamed up with B&H making all their products for the DJI Ronin fully accessible worldwide.
This is great news for international buyers; CineMilled is one of those compact engineering and retailer companies with great filmmaking products but due to their size has struggled to remain competitive with global reach.
Buyers can now buy through B&H guaranteeing fast and affordable shipping worldwide.
Never heard of CineMilled? If you’re a DJI Ronin operator and packing weight, they should be your best friend.
CineMilled makes a range of products that enable the DJI Ronin to be more universally compatible and handle long, bigger camera setups.
The Universal Quick Plate is a CineMilled product that mates to the Ronin (using the same plate as original crossbars) and provides a host of 1/4″ and 3/8″ threads; this is great for mounting your Ronin to Jibs and car rigs alike.
Also worth noting is the Arm Extensions (pair) and Pan Arm Extensions Long and Short. These products relocate the camera cradle further away from the Gimbal enabling much longer camera setups to be used.
Previously, Red EPIC setups would require a slim batteryor side mount solution, and F55 rigs very cumbersome.
The CineMilled extensions ensure a more “normal” setup is compatible with your Ronin, as well as compatibility with the FS700, FS7 and even Arri Amira (although the latter is very tentative due to the cameras size).
For a full list of CineMilled products check them out on B&H.

Wooden camera has recently announced shipment of their new gimbal battery plate for Red Cameras. The plate is designed to allow a battery to attach to the side of the camera, shortening your setup for use with a gimbal stabilizer.
The Gimbal Battery Plate is available for both Epic and Scarlet cameras, allowing a variety of large popular V-lock and Anton Bauer battery to be mounted.
Wooden Camera also ship a selection of power extension leads that they recommend checking out when purchasing the Gimbal Battery Plate.
Mounting a battery on the side of the camera is becoming a fairly popular technique to allow users to keep their cameras physically compatible with their gimbal stabilizers.
Long setups are problematic for gimbals, ask any FS700 user. Whilst the payload of a DJI Ronin is rarely challenged, it’s often the physical length of a camera that is the bottleneck.
Another option to moving the battery mount is to extend the reach of the gimbal itself. CineMilled specialise in Arm Extensions for the Ronin that enable you to mount longer, larger camera setups to your gimbal.